About “Blood On the Leaves”

“Blood on the Leaves” is the seventh track from Kanye West’s sixth solo studio album Yeezus. The song utilizes a sample of Nina Simone’s “Strange Fruit” to tell a tale of lost love.

Production was handled by six producers, one of whom was Hudson Mohawke of TNGHT. In a Pitchfork interview, he discussed the creation of the song.

I think Kanye had wanted to use that “Strange Fruit” sample for a while, but it was like, “How in the hell are you going to get that to fit?” But it miraculously came together. Obviously, “Strange Fruit” carries so much political weight, and “Blood on the Leaves” is more about past relationships, but you can draw some parallels between the two. There’s not an overtly political message in the final lyrics, but in some ways that would’ve been too easy.